The son of a steelworker and a nurse, Jay Fawcett's early life was spent in Monongahela, Pennsylvania where he learned that hard work and dedication are the keys to success. Achieving the status of Eagle Scout and being an active member of Grace Lutheran Church, Jay gained an appreciation of being a part of his community. Service to America and Americans was and still is the underlining theme of the Fawcett family.

At seventeen, Jay arrived in Colorado Springs, reporting to the Air Force Academy as a Cadet with the class of 1977. Upon graduation he went to Navigator training and was selected as a Weapon Systems Officer in the F4 Phantom, serving in fighter squadrons in Korea and Spain. Jay left Spain in 1983 for the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University completing the degree requirements for an MBA in 1985.

Wanting to give back to the young people who would follow in his footsteps, then Captain Fawcett joined the faculty of the Air Force Academy in June of 1985. This stay lasted three years on the faculty and one year as the Academy's headquarters squadron commander.

On May 6, 1989 Jay married the fiery redheaded, outspoken Susan O'Connell at the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. Soon after their wedding they were transferred to Fort Campbell, KY where Jay served as the Air Liaison Officer for the First Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. He was deployed into military action in the first Gulf War. Serving in Desert Shield and the initial helicopter assault into Iraq during Desert Storm, Major Fawcett was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions.

The end of Desert Storm brought a new assignment for the Fawcett family. Relocating to Langley Air Force Base Jay earned the coveted position of working on the staff of the Deputy Commander for Operations of Air Combat Command and was promoted to Lt. Colonel.

Leaving Virginia in 1994, the family moved on to Hurlburt Field in Florida. Jay developed a training program for theater level air campaign planning and Susan started an art school. Their daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School, and their very active son, John, spent his days swimming in the Gulf of Mexico with Fawcett family's newest addition, a black lab mix named Captain Hook.

In 1998, after serving his country in combat and during the Cold War, Lt Colonel Fawcett retired from the Air Force and went to work as a defense contractor. Returning to Colorado Springs, Jay began working at US Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base. In 2003, the family welcomed a new addition to the family, Ms. Smee, a black terrier mix, who is absolutely convinced she is the center of the universe.